About this project

$10,662

pledged of $10,000 goal

80

backers

About the film:

The Leap is an upcoming short Sci-fi film inspired by the director’s grandparents. It is a tale of a man trying to piece together the truth amid time travelers, Alzheimer’s disease, and a daughter that he can’t seem to remember.

“In the summer of 2012, my grandmother passed away… we were in total grief, but I noticed there was one person that was experiencing the passing in a very different way – my grandfather. He was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and was zoning in and out of time.” – Yale Yang

“Not often do you see a film about a medical condition so full of imagination and wonder. A rare gem.”

– Tom Musca, acclaimed Hollywood screenwriter.

“A very human story, set within a sci-fi drama. This film has the potential to change our opinion of existence.”

– Jim Bigham, producer of Dolphin Tale

Plot:

Hector's last memory was working in a physics lab (1987) and something goes wrong. In his attempt to save himself and his wife, he wakes up to a strange reality (2013). A doctor tells tells him that he has Alzheimer's and the vivid flashback may be due to the new treatment.

As Hector starts piecing the truth together himself, he meets a young lady claiming to be his grown-up daughter. He dismisses her and is convinced that something bigger is behind all this. After failed attempts to gain information about his wife, Hector meets another patient in the facility that believes he is a time traveler from the future. The patient offers to help only if Hector can assist him in fixing the time device that he stowed away. Will he take a leap of faith and grasp the chance?

Creators of the film:

Yale Yang – Director

Yale Yang - Director

Yale was born in Taiwan, but grew up in a small town in Mississippi. His early interests in film dates back to his childhood while watching the Back to the Future series. Before shifting his career to filmmaking, Yale received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, served in the military, and worked at a publishing company as an editor. His interest in all walks of life has inspired him to create touching stories and heartfelt characters.
Yale has directed and produced several short films, commercials, and documentaries up to date. Among those include award-winning pieces such as LOTTO, which was a big winner at the 2012 Canes Film Festival.
Yale is currently a candidate to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from the University of Miami.

Kyle Sullivan - Writer

Kyle Sullivan - Writer

Kyle is a screenwriter and producer who has written numerous award winning short films such as Manifest Destiny and Roma which premiered at the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles as well as several other short films which have been screened at national and local festivals. He is currently an adjunct professor of screenwriting and a candidate to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting from the University of Miami.

Lissette Vilarchao – Producer

Lissette Vilarchao – Producer

Lissette is an independent producer who graduated from the University of Miami School of Communication with a Masters of Fine Arts in Producing. Prior to receiving her degree, Lissette was trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood, California where she perfected her training in theatre directing.
Prior to deciding on a Producing career, Lissette developed her production skills in directing the press and entertainment activities of a camp for chronically ill children, and has also served as the head of Marketing for a hospitality company for eight years. She is an avid champion for arts programs and arts programs for individuals with special needs.

Richard Troutner – Cinematographer

Richard Troutner – Cinematographer

Rick was born and raised in Miami, Florida and is a cinematographer skilled in visual storytelling and photography. He is currently finishing his BA degree at the University of Miami. Rick’s past work includes various short films such as The End, NOM (which won Audience Award and Judges Award at Scares & Scores 2012), Troop 666, Cheated, and 18 & Older. The feature length film Black Friday that he shot in 2012 (produced and directed by Hollywood acclaimed director Lisa Gottlieb) is due out in major festivals next year.

Samantha Natalie – Song Writer

Samantha Natalie - Songwriter

Samantha Natalie, singer/songwriter from Miami Beach, FL, released her debut full-length album entitled "A Great Wall" in June of 2011. With inspirations from singer/songwriters, such as Carol King, Carly Simon, Tori Amos, Billy Joel, and James Taylor, her sound comes out as unique, soulful, and classic to say the least.
Along with local interviews, including the South Florida Channel 6 Morning Show, Samantha Natalie and her CD, A Great Wall, have gone on to be featured in local and national magazines such as City Link Magazine of Ft. Lauderdale, Keyboard Magazine, and Music Now Magazine. The CD has also been featured on Nord Piano's website, and the title track, "A Great Wall", has been recently aired on Reality TV's Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

“I’ve been writing original music for most of my life, and every song says something different about my journey to where I am now. These songs are my release, my therapy, and my one true love.” - Samantha

*(music in short video above provided by Kevin MacLeod)

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WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO TO?

Filmmaking is a very time
consuming and money consuming art. Even though a lot of volunteers will be
working for free, we need a budget for the following items:

• CASTING. We’d like to be
able to cast professional actors, and bring them in from out of town if need be.
If so, we need to provide lodging and transportation.

• TRANSPORTATION. During the
many days of the shoot, we will constantly need to relocate the cast and crew,
as well as move the equipment around. This we require renting vehicles and
pumping gasoline.

• PRODUCTION DESIGN. To make
the world of the story come to life, we will need to dress the locations up to
fit the atmosphere of the film. For places that are more complicated, we would
have to build the set, which would be one of the larger chunks in our budget.

• EQUIPMENT RENTAL. Even
though we have access to some basic equipment, we would still have to rent
things like advanced cameras, lenses, lights, cranes, and dollies. This will
directly affect the look of the film, and is money we absolutely need to set
aside.

• LOCATION FEES. Finding the
right locations will also be a key element in making the film look right. Besides
shooting permits, we may need to hire security and pay for insurance.

• CATERING. It is always
important to keep our crew hydrated and well nourished. These amazing human
beings will be volunteering their time and effort into this film – so the least
we can do is provide them with warm meals and snacks.

• FILM SCORE. The film score
is one of those things that make or break the film. We would like to make sure
that we have sufficient fund set aside for this to happen, which would likely include
the recording of live instruments.

WHAT’S THE TIMELINE FOR THIS
PROJECT?

We are currently in preproduction,
and will be preparing throughout the Kickstarter campaign. Location scouting,
camera testing, and set building will be only some of the things that we will
be doing. Our shoot dates are prospected to be at the end of January, and after
that would be two months of post-production.

Thank you so much for your
time and consideration. If you aren't able to support us financially, but you
really think that we are starting something worth our time and effort, it would
be great if you could share this link on Facebook or Twitter. The more people that
come across this page, the more likely we will be funded.

Thank you for helping us make
this film a reality!

Risks and challenges

Biggest Challenge - Our biggest challenge is to find the right locations and even build them for the effect shots that we plan to achieve. We can overcome this with the appropriate funding to construct the set.

Second Biggest Challenge - This would be finding the right actors. Since the script is constructed with many emotional scenes, finding the right talent would be crucial to the success of the film. We are currently holding many audition events to locate talent for the specific roles.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $15 or more
About $15

The above thank-you email, and also a shout-out thank you post with your name on it on our website and social media fan pages. PLUS a private link to a behind-the-scenes sneak peek video made just for fans like you!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

Get the above, PLUS a downloadable version of the finished film with your name in the credits under "Special Thanks." (shown at the end credits) You will ALSO receive a beautifully designed HD movie wallpaper.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

All of the above rewards, plus a HD digital copy of the finished film and links to special footage. You will ALSO receive a digital copy of The Leap theme song "Inside" written by songwriter Samantha Natalie (see Samantha’s intro on left), AND the original soundtrack by composer Wei Roo Chen!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

Get all of the above, plus a DVD copy of the film when it's done, which includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and director’s commentary! The director will ALSO call you personally, if you choose to, through Skype to thank you.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

All the rewards that you see above, including the DVD and digital download of the theme song, etc, PLUS a cast & crew signed copy of The Leap poster and a personal thank you video from the creators of the film. What’s more? You also get an exclusive The Leap T-shirt! (signed upon request)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Backers willing to give us this kind of boost will receive all of the above rewards, PLUS a designed duel DVD copy of the film and the theme song/single. Backers at this level will be credited as an Associate Producer, which will be shown at the end credits as well as listed on the IMDb page.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Would you like to tour the film sets, and even get a chance to be an extra in the film? Backers at this level will get a personalized tour during the production of the film, complete with a Q&A session with the director! (transportation and lodging not provided) Plus all of the above rewards.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

Become an Executive Producer, and be updated throughout the post-production process, with sneak peeks into the rough cuts of the film as it is coming together! Backers at this level will be credited as one of the few Executive Producers, which will be featured at the end credits as well as listed on the IMDb page. Executive producers will also be featured on our website and social media fan pages. Also includes all of the rewards above. (transportation and lodging not provided)